Stress is encountered in nearly all areas of life, in the job, during free time or in a relationship. During the “Karlsruher Stresstage” (Karlsruhe Stress Days) from November 04 to 06 at the KIT, the House of Competence (HoC) will offer stress management courses as well as expert workshops.
Visitors of the Stress Days may also have a look into the “body.mind.lab” that will be opened on November 06 and present current stress measurement methods.
The “body.mind.lab” is the core of an interdisciplinary research group, in which sports scientists, pedagogues, psychologists, and electrical engineers cooperate. It is focused on the interaction of body and mind by measuring biosignals that allow conclusions to be drawn with respect to the physical and the psychic state. It is the objective of the research group to develop an electronic companion or coach, who helps “to remain physically in good shape and to optimally exhaust cognitive potentials”, underlines the head of the group, Dr. Stefan Hey. A prototype of the so-called body monitoring system is planned to be available e.g. in the form of a watch in one year’s time.
The KIT body.mind.lab is equipped with latest technology that has partly been developed by Hey’s research group itself. The equipment includes test devices for psychophysiological monitoring, test batteries for cognitive power, training systems for physical fitness as well as systems for the optical and acoustic stimulation of stress and emotions. With a total of four measurement stations, the laboratory allows for stress measurements and simultaneous cognitive and emotional stimulation. For studies outside of the laboratory, the researchers possess a number of mobile systems. On November 06, the body.mind.lab will open its doors and offer test measurements to all persons interested (12 to 19 hrs, university campus, Otto-Ammann-Platz 9, building 10.30, second floor).
“The House of Competence wishes to support people, who have to meet high performance requirements, in optimally using their own resources. The issue of stress and resources management ranks first on the agenda”, says Dr. Michael Stolle, Director of the House of Competence that organizes the Karlsruhe Stress Days in cooperation with the Techniker Krankenkasse. “It is aimed at presenting latest research results regarding the phenomenon of stress and to check them for application. At the HoC, we have best prerequisites for this work”, underlines Stolle.
On November 05 and 06, the HoC will also open its entrance hall to visitors (university campus, Straße am Forum 3, building 30.96). At information booths and by posters, interested persons will be informed about stress prevention in research and practice. Also here, it will be possible to measure the personal stress level. During the Stress Days, expert workshops will take place, where scientists will present their research projects. In addition, training will be offered to employees and students.
Further information may be obtained under: HoC
The House of Competence (HoC) is the central KIT institution for competence development and advanced training. It supports students, PhD students, employees, and external customers by offering individually tailored programs. The advanced training offers are complemented by new scientific approaches developed by interdisciplinary research groups. This results in a number of innovative qualification options. The House of Competence considers itself to be the center for conveying key competences.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is the merger of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, member of the Helmholtz Association, and the Universität Karlsruhe. This merger will give rise to an institution of internationally excellent research and teaching in natural and engineering sciences. In total, the KIT has 8000 employees and an annual budget of 700 million Euros. The KIT focuses on the knowledge triangle of research – teaching – innovation.
The Karlsruhe institution is a leading European energy research center and plays a visible role in nanosciences worldwide. KIT sets new standards in teaching and promotion of young scientists and attracts top scientists from all over the world. Moreover, KIT is a leading cooperation partner of industry.